Plot
Athens is preparing for the wedding of Duke Theseus to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. A group of friends decide to put on a play as part of the celebrations, and they go to the woods to rehearse. Meanwhile a young woman, Hermia, decides to elope with her beloved Lysander rather than her arranged marriage with Demetrius. They are followed into the woods by Demetrius and by Hermia’s friend, Helena, who is in love with Demetrius.
At the same time, Oberon, king of the fairies, has quarrelled with his queen, Titania. To get his own back, he sends his servant, Puck, to cause Titania to fall in love with the first creature she sees.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (animated version)
Author – William Shakespeare
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Analysis of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
My Shakespeare – an interactive guide to A Midsummer Night’s Dream which includes the script (complete with modern English definitions of obscure words), an audio version of the original script, and videos of both sections from each play, and ‘interviews’ with the characters to further explain the action.
Themes – universal ideas
Jealousy, love, reality and illusion
More to explore – motifs, symbols, context, setting
Athens, changelings, donkeys, dreams, Elizabethan period, fairies, festivals, forced marriage, love triangles, magic, midsummer, mistaken identity, the Moon, mythology, Puck, William Shakespeare, Tudor clothing, Tudor theatre, weddings, women’s rights.
Did you know?
In Greek myths, the Amazons were a tribe of warrior women who were expert archers. This would have seemed amazing to the ancient Greeks as their women often had no rights at all and were under the control of their fathers or husbands.
In Shakespeare’s time, fairies were not the cute sparkly beings that you might think of; they were human sized, uncontrollable, nasty and caused trouble if they were offended. Fairies were often blamed for things going wrong: people might be enchanted or even killed, babies could be stolen and changelings left instead. A puck was one kind of fairy creature.
Further reading
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If you enjoyed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, try these titles:
Tales from Shakespeare by Marcia Williams is a simple comic strip retelling of many Shakespeare plays, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett retells A Midsummer Night’s Dream but in this world, the magic is real. These fairies are more like an alien invasion.
The Iron Fey series by Julie Kanagawa features several characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including Robbie (Robin Goodfellow/Puck). The series starts with The Iron King. Library copy available.
For modern versions of Greek mythology, try Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series (Library copies available), or Who Let the Gods Out? by Maz Evans. Library copies available.
Theseus : battling the minotaur by Jeff Limke is a graphic novel version of a famous myth involving Theseus. Library copy available.
Literacy and Language
Shakespeare would sometimes have his characters put on a play. This is called a “play within a play”. Shakespeare used it to comment on what’s happening in the main play.
Numeracy
In Act 2, Scene 1, Puck says,
I’ll put a girdle round about the earth
In forty minutes.
Now, the circumference of the Earth is a touch over 40,000 km. So you can easily work out Puck’s speed using
Speed = Distance/Time
For comparison, the space shuttle has to travel at 28,000 kilometres per hour to remain in orbit. Puck is quick!
Health and Wellbeing
Hermia and Helena have been friends for a long time, but for most of the play, they certainly don’t act like it.
What do you think has caused them to fall out?
Rights Respecting Schools
How do the following articles apply to A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
Article 12: respect for the views of the child
Article 19: protection from violence, abuse and neglect
Article 37: inhumane treatment and detention
Developing the Young Workforce
Puck is given a task by Oberon but he gets mixed up.
Can you identify some positive skills and qualities that would have helped him?
